A New Horizon
by Yakow
Summary: Howdy! Another story for y'all!


A: N My third fic! This is just a little something I thought up while lying in bed one day. Rated for a little cursing.

WARNING: SPOILERS!!!!

Jak looks back and remembers the day he went through the rift.

Please review! I will appreciate it! Sorry my email isn't working! I will try to get it fixed. (Grumbles at Wannado)

Disclaimer: I own diddly squat! Naughty Dog has it all. Yee ha!

Enjoy!

A New Horizon

I lay in my bed. Daxter was there beside me snoring. I laughed quietly so that I didn't wake him. He still managed to sleep, even through all the noise that went on outside in the Slums. The smog was coming through the window. I heard Daxter sneeze. I kept finding that I couldn't sleep easily anymore, not with all the traffic fumes and noise from the Zoomers outside my window. And as the glass in the window was broken, it didn't help block the sound out.

"Ah, crap!" I cursed, frowning. "What do I have to do to get some sleep around here?"

I rolled over so I was facing up at the ceiling. There was a wet patch and several cracks between the plaster, causing the roof to leak a lot. I sighed deeply and tried to remember a time where I could breathe in without worrying that the toxins in the air would kill me. I remembered my old home Sandover Village, where I grew up.

Better times, huh? Better times...

The nest was dark and uninviting. There were Metal-Head eggs littering the walls, ceiling and the ground. I was only about four years old then but I remember it like it was yesterday...

...

I was trapped in a blue bubble thing, unable to reach the outside world. The Metal-Head Leader had put me in there. I was set up! Kor, my wise "protector" had taken off with me one day. He turned out to be the enemy of my lifetime. I felt helpless as I watched my older self get beaten up by this monster. If I were able to get out, there would have been nothing I could do either. I would probably be killed! I felt awful. All I could do was hope. Hope that Jak as my older form could win.

The Metal-Head Leader started by laying eggs all over the ground. They hatched into Stingers. I watched Jak take care of those easily, making me feel almost proud! The Metal-Head Leader would occasionally fire a huge blast from his mouth, which Jak had to get out of the way quickly. My older form was using a red gun to wipe out the Stingers and a yellow gun to fire directly at the Leader himself. He wielded the gun like a club to safe ammo and dodged everything that came to him.

Round two and I was still trapped in a bubble beneath the Metal-Head Leader. He was still laying Stingers eggs but had now invited Wasps to help. I could see that my older form was having trouble with these as they could fire at you whilst airborne. Jak could only fight on the ground and had to deal with the Stingers and the Wasps as well as the Metal-Head Leader's deadly blast. At last! All the Wasps and Stingers were gone. I felt relieved but I wondered what evil plan the Metal-Head Leader had in store for my older form now...

Final round. I stood in my bubble watching my older form's every move with admiration. The Metal-Head Leader had fallen from his place on the ceiling and was now heading straight for Jak! I knew that Jak was faster than he was but not by much as the Metal-Head Leader had many legs. Jak also had to fire at him at the same time as running. He used a gun with patches of purple on it to do this. The blast from this gun was tremendous but took a while to power up. Jak kept getting out of the way by rolling into a long jump. The Metal-Head leader followed close behind him blasting at him rapidly.

All was well until something terrible happened. The Metal-Head Leader had managed to him Jak on the shoulder and now was heading straight towards him. My heart started to pound against my chest as I watched the Metal-Head Lear come ever closer to my older form who was lying on his back on the ground, panting and screaming with pain. I screwed my eyes up, not daring to look anymore. But I heard a slight noise and opened my eyes again. Jak, my older self had rolled over and was staggering to his feet, slowly. He looked down at me and gave me a "thumbs up" I smiled back but my smiled faded as I looked behind Jak. Unable to say a word, I simply pointed up at the Metal-Head Leader watching my older form turn around. It was too late. The Metal-Head Leader had swung his giant tail at Jak and my other self was now hurtling into a pile of rubble on the other side of the nest. He landed awkwardly, groaning. I hit the inside of my bubble, now crying. I screamed but there was no sound coming from my throat. I watched, terrified, as the Metal-Head Leader advanced toward Jak and swung his tail at the wall. Mounds of earth landed on top of him, crushing him under their immense weight. I stared in shock unable to move or do anything at all. Could this have been the end of Jak? If it were the end of Jak then it would mean the end of me! And not too far off either...I was completely relying on him.

The Metal-Head Leader laughed evilly and approached me. My breathing quickened as I stared up into his black eyes, full of hatred. I curled up into a ball and squeaked in terror.

"Am I dead yet?" I thought to myself. I opened an eye to check what had happened. I could see the Metal-Head Leader still coming towards me but he stopped and turned around. I looked past him at the pile of rubble on the ground. Some of the rocks were moving which meant that JAK WAS STILL ALIVE! Or was it Jak?

A pale hand, with long claws, jabbed out from the top of the pile. I watched as this creature violently threw all the material off of him. The creature emerged. It's eyes were jet black, similar to the Metal-Head Leader's and the creature had small horns coming out of its wild hair. It somehow looked like Jak but didn't. This creature didn't make me feel comfortable at all. It was almost like I could feel pain running through my veins as it emerged. I looked down at my hands. They were trembling terribly. I looked at the creature, which was now attacking the Metal-Head Leader. It jumped in the air and landed, punching the ground as it did. I watched as a giant wave of Dark Eco spread out across the ground, hitting the enemy. I smiled.

The creature stopped and screamed as if it were in pain. I watched with interest and sympathy. The creature turned into Jak! My older form is the one they refer to as "The Dark One". He is supposed to have been seen killing innocent people in the streets. I suddenly felt disappointed.

Jak recovered his gun and began to attack the Metal-Head Leader once more. I looked up at the wall, which now had a rift gate opening. The Metal-Head Leader fell to the ground weakly but arose promptly in an attempt to jump through the rift. His attempt failed and he crashed towards the ground. Dead.

My heart raced with joy. The bubble around me faded, letting me out. I ran towards Jak with my arms in the air but turned around as something caught me eye. It was the Precursor Stone! Curiosity took complete control over me as extended my hand to touch this glowing stone. As soon as I lay a finger on it, I jumped back and watched as some sort of spirit loomed from the stone. The spirit shone brightly.

"Oh man, a Precursor!" Jak said, amazed. I didn't quite understand but I enjoyed watching this beautiful thing float in the air. In a deep voice it muttered something about a glorious light. It was obviously talking to Jak, my older form. I, on the other hand, was mesmerised by the magnificent light. I beamed up at it. I watched it disappear through the rift.

I turned my head as I noticed a Lurker balloon come through a hole in the wall. The others were cheering madly! The balloon landed in front of us, carrying the rift rider, Keira had built. Everyone greeted each other happily.

"We haven't got much time. I've set the co-ordinates to Sandover village. Let's go home, everyone!" Keira shouted, excitedly.

"But we are home" Jak said. Everyone looked a little confused. The younger Samos said that it was him who had to go through the rift and not the other Samos. He said that he would have to take me to a place where I would grow up, safe from harm so I could fulfil what I, or the other me, had done today. Keira managed to confuse herself even more, which I found quite funny. I looked above my head to see that a blue and yellow bird had somehow flown in and was now flying about my head. I tried to touch it.

Keira was in a muddle. She was trying to explain that she had built the rift rider from what she had remembered before.

"Honey, the more you think about it, the more it hurts the head" Daxter said to try and calm Keira down from getting confused.

I saw Samos climb aboard the rift rider so I followed. I couldn't quite get up so my older form picked me up and lifted me on.

"Hey kid...take care. Oh! And trust me on this...stay away from any wumpbee nests on your ninth birthday! Ok?" Jak warned me. I nodded.

The rift rider started to rise up. I leant round to face the others and waved goodbye.

"I'll be back in time for the celebration!" Samos called back to them. And that was the last I saw of them for a long time.

The rift ride was fun! Samos, next to me wasn't enjoying it at all. He kept saying that he didn't like teleportation. I just grinned. I loved the sensation in my stomach. It felt like it was being pushed in and the best bit was the wind in my face.

The worst part of the journey was coming; the part where the rift rider can't take any more and breaks apart, leaving Samos and I to hurtle to the ground.

I landed. All was black and I could remember nothing apart from a bright light and the fact that I had come with Samos. I couldn't feel my arms and legs and my eyelids felt heavy. I wondered if I had died, by realised that I was able to think so I must have been unconscious.

When I awoke, the first person I looked for was Samos. I couldn't see him but I knew that he couldn't have gone far. I sat up and stretched. The world around me seemed totally different to Haven City. I could take a breath of air that wouldn't be likely to kill me and the sun was shining just enough to give a comfortable temperature. There were a few clouds in the sky and they were the whitest and fluffiest clouds I had ever seen. Haven City's clouds were a dark grey, sometimes green. The thought of it sickened me. I leant back on the ground. It was soft, very soft, and very green for that matter. Everywhere I could see was green apart from the sand on the beaches and the brilliant blue ocean.

I inhaled deeply. The air had a certain taste to it and was moist. This place was like my dreams but only better. I lay back down and closed my eyes. The sun warmed me and the breeze kept me from overheating. This was perfect.

"Kid, Kid!" a familiar voice called to me. I sat up and yawned, blinking slightly. It was Samos.

"Hmm. So what do you think of this place? He asked, looking down at me. I grinned.

"Well, come on then! This place can't have no one living here, can it?" He said, taking my hand and pulling me up.

"The plants said that a village is not to far from here", he said pulling me in a different direction.

We began to walk to wherever Samos was going.

It wasn't long before Samos had spotted some queer looking houses in a very sandy area.

"I think this is it", he told me, smiling. I smiled back. The two of us walked across a small beach. There was a hut and a pen full of yakows. I smiled and pointed at them. The sand felt soft compared with the hard and uneven walkways of Haven City. Samos and I walked over a small bridge and into the village.

"Hello!" Samos called. The first person to respond was a small and portly man with a large, grey moustache. He wore a red and pink hat, which he removed at the sight of us.

"We're new and were wondering if we could stay the night here as this place looks friendly" Samos said. The other man looked happy.

"Welcome to Sandover Village!" the shorter man, exclaimed. Samos smiled.

"If you like I could give you a piece of land so you can live here if you so desire. I am the mayor of this village and I am pleased to make your acquaintance" the man said.

"I'd be more than happy if I could take this child with me as well" Samos said.

"Certainly! There is a reasonable sized bit of land over there. Nobody has used it in ages. You are welcome to it if you like" the Mayor said. He pointed to two a large island connected by a smaller island and wooden bridges in between.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear this!" Samos said, over the moon.

"I say! Why don't you come in for some tea!" the Mayor offered.

"Thank you" Samos said. I followed both of them inside and sat down by the fire in the middle while Samos and the Mayor talked.

I became bored rather quickly and stood up. I tugged on Samos's jacket and pointed outside. He nodded and I walked out of the door. I went round to other people's houses and was treated really nicely. Everyone was so kind here.

I decided to go and explore the rest of the village. My first place was the beach with the yakows on. I fed them grass out of my hand for a while but stopped when I caught something out of the corner if my eye.

It was a boy. He looked pretty bored and was staring out to sea, skipping small pebbles. I walked up to him and sat down beside him. He looked at me with his big blue eyes. The boy had fiery red hair and buckteeth. I smiled at him. The boy looked up at me and smiled back, looking quite surprised. I waved as if to say hello.

"Hi!" the boy said back. "I'm Daxter! Pleased to meet you!"

I smiled.

"You know? You're the first person to actually smile at me. All the others think I am too loud or too obnoxious", he said looking depressed.

I looked at him sympathetically. Daxter smiled back.

"So. What's your name?" He stared at me right in the face making me feel rather uncomfortable. I couldn't say anything or even know my own name so I just shrugged.

"Do you say anything?" Daxter asked me.

I shook my head.

"So you don't know your own name and you don't talk. Interesting!" He smiled at me. I grinned back uneasily as if to say "that's right!"

I grabbed his arm and pointed to the Mayor's house.

"You wanna go there? Ok then!" he said following me.

I knocked gently on the door.

"Come in!" the Mayor called.

I pointed to Daxter and smiled.

"Who's this then? Have you made a new friend?" Samos asked me.

Smiled and nodded.

"Great! Then we're settled because we're staying here!" Samos said excitedly.

I grinned and Daxter looked very pleased. The Mayor grumbled at the sight of Daxter and my smile faded when I spotted this. Daxter didn't look like he cared.

"Shall I introduce you to the rest of the villagers?" the Mayor asked.

"That would be good" Samos agreed.

The Mayor went outside and gathered the locals. They all stood round in a big circle and smiled at Samos and I.

"Good afternoon everyone! Let me take the time to introduce you all to our new neighbours. This is Samos. He says he is a sage from a different time", the Mayor said. "And this is...um who is this kid?" he asked Samos.

"I don't actually know his name" Samos replied.

"You said you were from another time. The only "person" who would have a chance of knowing would be the Oracle. It's up on that hill, over there", the Mayor told him.

Well, you can guess what happened next can't you; we all gathered around the Oracle.

"Who has awoken me from my slumber? Wait! This child has the light within!" the Oracle bellowed.

"We would like to know his name", Samos said in a respectful tone.

"This child has come from far into the future." The oracle informed. "He is known as "Jak" and is to be trained for the challenges that lie ahead including our greatest enemy. Good Luck."

And with that, the Oracle's eyes faded and everyone fell silent. I stood there gaping.

The Mayor piped up after a moment of silence.

"Well, let us all welcome Jak into our humble abode!"

I smiled, content with my name.

All the villagers walked back to the village centre (outside the Mayor's hut). The Mayor continued his speech,

"Ok! Samos and young Jak shall be living on that small island up there. Samos shall be known as the village s..."

"Um, the Green Sage please" Samos corrected him.

"All right. Samos shall be known as the Green Sage. Let us all hope that they resume their happiness here in our village!" The Mayor finished.

I groaned and clenched my stomach.

"Say no more!" The Mayor said. "As it is such a lovely evening, shall we all eat outside?"

Everyone agreed. I was sure glad to have something to eat and drink.

The food here was so much better than the food I had eaten in Haven City. The food wasn't all greasy and horrible. There wasn't a stench that put you off either. I ate as many fresh vegetables and fish as I could. The rice was moist and tasted great. The water was the best bit. It was clean and refreshing. The water I had back in Haven City was polluted and a murky brown. I even got to try fruits like coconuts, which I had never eaten before. I tried exotic new things like pineapple juice, which I enjoyed mostly.

Samos had already got plans for the new hut that he was going to build on our new bit of land. It was huge!

After the meal, I sat on the island that I would soon be living on with my new friend Daxter. I sighed deeply. The ocean breeze was cooling and the sounds and movement of the waves were relaxing. Daxter belched and laughed. I laughed as well. I felt at home in this new place. I had new surroundings, new foods and especially new friends.

Daxter went back to the Mayor's hut where the Mayor, unwillingly, let him sleep next to the fire. It was also time for me to go to bed but I couldn't help but stare out over the sea. I couldn't help but stare over this new horizon.

Who new what adventures would lie ahead!

...

"Ah, shit! The city's on high alert again!" Someone muttered.

"Jak! Jak, wake up! Jak, Get your lazy ass outta bed and help me out here!"

It was Torn. I groaned as I rolled onto the floor, landing on Daxter.

"Hey!" he shouted.

I grinned

"Coming", I muttered. "Off we go again!"

A: N Finished! It took quite a while figuring out what could have happened so make it worth my time by reviewing!

Pleeeeeeeeeeeez! You will make me happy!

See y'all!


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